Fall – Cry If You Feel Like It – Then Get Up and Keep Going

OK, I cannot be the only one who has a really bad day here and there. You know what I’m talking about, a day when the ships seem to be sinking one by one and the ones that are not sinking on their own you sail them into shallow muddy waters and …well, you’re stuck. That’s me today. Hmmm… keeping the positive attitude up and running looks like a fool’s errand. My glass is half full, I keep telling g myself when I know deep down in my heart that I am running on empty. Should I lie to myself and play pretend until the storm passes or…?

What do you do when you are having one of those days?

Here is what I humored myself with today while trying to drag my ships from the shallow waters I was stuck in. First of all, about my positive attitude which was missing completely – sure I kept giving myself some good old pep talks but my cup was still empty. Why ? A rather enlightening “a-ha” moment led me to a comforting answer: It had a hole in it. So there. Sometimes we make the holes, sometimes we acquire them along the way. The point is, once I knew it was there I worked at fixing it. And I did. Once I was done, I did a refill – writing and going for a long bike ride – and my positive attitude is back.

Today’s lesson #1: Do not expect anyone to fix your problems. They might not have the right tools and they cannot see what you see. Do it yourself but accept encouragement from those who care. It’ll work out. Before you know it, you’ll be out sailing with some strong wind in your sails.

Today lesson #2: Falling is a painful experience, hence tears are expected, but you won’t stay down forever. Not everything will be fixed in one day but it will be eventually. And you’ll discover more about yourself in the process and reconnect with yourself too. Being/feeling temporarily vulnerable brings you one step closer to becoming stronger.

So I fell, I cried, but now I’m up again and moving on. Isn’t that what we tell our children to do too?